The only way for UKIP to know how many Councillors it has is by the Councillors themselves letting UKIP know when they are elected. The Local Government Association recognises only four types of Councillor, Labour, Lib-Dem, Conservative and Independent/Minor Party.
Unfortunately it dosen't differentiate between Independent and Minor Parties it just lumps them together. The same goes for the Greens, SNP, Plaid, etc they are all just in the same pot as the Independents. So it's down to party discipline and I suppose Regional Organiser's knowing who is a Councillor on their patch.
The membership fee for the Local Government Association is by the way paid by the Councilor's local authority and not by the Councillor personally.
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